A Relaxed Understanding
by paynesgrey
Summary: Uhura unexpectedly comes to an understanding with her roommate, Gaila. Warning for slight drug use, but nothing serious. Gaila/Uhura, pre-Uhura/Spock. ONESHOT.


AN: Written for a request meme for airspaniel on Livejournal.

A Relaxed Understanding

Cadets Uhura and Gaila got along well enough, but it wasn't easy.

The first weeks of sharing a dorm room were the hardest. Nyota Uhura was not very pleased at the men Gaila brought home, as well as dirty clothes flung about that crossed over to _her_ side. In turn, her roommate wasn't too keen on Uhura's rules of keeping the music down while she studied, or that Uhura had driven Gaila clear out of the room when she had to practice the guttural sounds of a complicated dialect.

Tensions were high enough, but the only release came from one throwing something at the other, an angry pillow, a stinging PADD, or the worst, a defiant pair of dirty panties.

Uhura could tell tonight was going to be another night of cattiness and jokes about sexual frustration.

"You need to loosen up, Nyota," Gaila said, practicing some kind of odd exercise stretching that originated from her planet. It was only comparable to Earth's yoga, and Uhura had been silently impressed at the complicated stretches her roommate had practiced.

"I am loose enough, Gaila. I went out drinking last night," Uhura said, flashing her a confident smile.

Gaila rolled her eyes. "Right. You'd only be less frigid if you'd brought a guy home."

Uhura pursed her lips; already she did not like the direction of this conversation. She sighed heavily. "It's hard to bring a decent guy home when they're all tied up in a bar brawl."

Gaila giggled. "You should have picked the winner."

Uhura scoffed, and she slammed down her PADD and set her Andorian tea on her nightstand. She'd had enough of this, and she was going to get some air.

"I'm going out," she said, though she did not indicate where or how long she'd be gone. Gaila just watched her with wide eyes, and Uhura hated how relieved the young woman looked when she was about to leave the room.

She hadn't been long, and when she returned Gaila looked relaxed reading a PADD as she lightly tapped her foot to the tunes coming from her portable music player. Uhura sat on the edge of her bed with a sigh and decided to go back to her studies.

"Feel better?" Gaila asked with her attention glued to her PADD.

"Uh huh," she murmured and grabbed her drink as she reclined on her bed. She clicked on her own PADD and began to read. She took a few sips of her drink, and instantly she started to feel tired.

Strange. Uhura put down the drink and wiggled around on her stiff, Starfleet-issued pillow, and as she glanced to the side, she realized that her roommate was watching her – more intently than was normal.

Then, her head started to buzz, and the room started to blur. Uhura blinked and with as much strength as she could, she opened her mouth and glared accusingly at Gaila. Her roommate was already on her feet, coming to the end of her bed with a satisfied smile.

"You drugged me! I can't believe this. I can't even fathom how many Starfleet regulations you broke just by slipping that into my ---Oh!" Uhura's voice faltered, and her vision became hazy. She smiled as she started to feel a soothing sensation on the balls of her feet. "That feels good…"

"Like I said, Nyota, you need to relax," Gaila said cheerfully. Uhura couldn't hold back the moan that escaped as Gaila's skilled hands squeezed and messaged the ache out of her feet. Crap, she thought, her race was trained for this sort of this thing.

"You didn't need to drug me," Uhura said.

"Yes, I did. You wouldn't let me just offer you a massage, would you?" Gaila challenged.

Uhura thought about it. She had a point. She felt the lull of the drug, and her eyes closed in relaxation. She couldn't even struggle to stay alert anymore. She frowned.

"Don't worry, it'll wear off. It's not harmful. It's an organic substance from Orion to put high-strung leaders at ease," she said. Uhura met Gaila's eyes. "I think you needed it."

Maybe she was right. Uhura let out a sigh as Gaila began rubbing the other foot. Her vision was clearing up, which meant she was right and the substance was moderately subsiding.

"I didn't take a guy home with me last night for a reason," Uhura confessed softly. "It's not like I don't know how to have fun."

"I know," Gaila said, her tone sounding apologetic. "You're really busy. I'm sort of jealous at how exceptional you are."

Uhura watched her curiously, and then she smiled. "Funny, sometimes I'm jealous of how beautiful and carefree you are."

Gaila smiled softly at her. "So tell me, why didn't you take a handsome man home last night from that bar?"

Uhura inhaled another heavy breath again. She didn't know how to tell her. She didn't really know if she _could_. She closed her eyes as Gaila's soft hands moved up her ankles.

"I like someone, and I think…" Gaila froze, her smile fading into an expression of shock. "I think he likes me back." Uhura said with a sheepish shrug.

First there was silence, and then Uhura, even somewhat under the drug's influence, jumped as she heard Gaila's squeal of happiness. Next, her roommate had launched at her, pulling her into a big hug.

"Oh, my little Uhura is growing up!" she proclaimed.

Uhura couldn't resist a chuckle, but she sat up and pulled away from Gaila's gleeful hug. "Quit it," she said with embarrassment. Gaila laughed at her and took her hands.

"So… tell me who he is," Gaila demanded playfully. Uhura had to stop and think for a moment, not because she was scared to tell her, but that she finally felt they were bonding beyond just roommates. It was exceedingly refreshing to have a girlfriend again.

Uhura looked down at her lap shyly, and she cleared her throat. Her hands were still in Gaila's as the other woman waited with excitement. "Well, I don't know if I _can_ tell you." Gaila's face fell slightly, but Uhura could tell the woman believed she could pry it out of her eventually. "It's sort of forbidden."

Gaila's whistled, and Uhura's admission seemed to thrill her even more. Her roommate scooted closer to her on the bed, and her eyes lit with anticipation that Uhura couldn't deny.

"Sweetie, you have to tell me _now_. Those are the best kind."

END


End file.
